Lycanthropy or Lust?
by eskamobob21
Summary: Britney was saved from a vampire attack by a massive wolf who before her eyes changes into the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. Now she wants answers but he wont say a word. NOT AN IMPRINTING FIC; Seth x OC; please R&R!
1. Chapter 1 Nerd Alert

I don't own any part of Twilight; though I wish I did.

**Chapter 1: Nerd Alert**

Forks was dreary, rainy, green, and for all intents and purposes my definition of perfection. I had moved from West Michigan a year ago; a place I greatly hated. I could handle general religious fervor. I thought religion and morals were overall beneficial to society. What really pissed me off about West Michigan was not the intensity of the practitioners, but the way it seemed like everyone I talked to about religion tried to force their beliefs down my throat and called me a heathen.

There was very little of that in Forks. Granted Forks was as spiritual place as any but things were different, more peaceful and accepting.

I looked at the clock trying to will the long hand to sweep around the face. I had given up long ago trying to force the smaller stick to bend to my power; now it only mocked me. I still had hope for the big hand. It was larger and hopefully more responsive to my albeit ineffective telekinesis.

I often mused that the more one looked at the clock the slower time moved. Simply for something to do as the teacher droned on about Shakespeare's fantastical romances and tragedies I pretended that I could only move in slow motion like the clock. I will be the first to say I'm a nerd; but when there's nothing else to do I have to keep my mind occupied in some way.

As much as I was enthralled by the dragging class period, I was infinitely glad when the bell rang dismissing us for lunch. After I acquired the miniscule salad and carton of milk for lunch I took my usual place at my lonely table in a corner of the cafeteria. At first I was sad that like my last school I was a bit of a social outcast, exiled from the student body, but soon I got use to it. This sort of exile was better; they left me alone and I left them alone. This was not to say that I was completely shunned. I had a good relationship with a vast majority of students, often being consulted and consulting others on various assignments. But in general I just never fit into the social scene so they left me alone. Blissful peace.

Since, like usual, I was alone at the table I decided to take my normal course of action once I finished eating and wrote. Sometimes I wrote stories, sometimes poetry, although I will admit that nothing I penned was of any literary value. I only did it to keep myself busy.

I was working on the rhyme scheme for a poem that for the past day had been eluding completion. We were working on Shakespeare in English and I felt it would be both prudent and enjoyable to mix my passion for writing with the insight to complete an assignment that wasn't due for a few days. Traditionally I would consider myself a procrastinator, but things meshed for me this time and I went to work trying to find a twist and last six heroic couplets for my Shakespearian Sonnet.

I was engrossed by complicated rhyme schemes that I could not make relevant to the subject when I heard a dull buzzing in the background. Looking up I saw that the lunchroom was starting to clear out, meaning that the buzzing I heard was the bell signaling lunch was over and the next period would soon start.

Chemistry was fun and one of my favorite subjects, but that was only when we were going over theories. Today was math-orientated trying to determine the molar mass of various salts. The work wasn't particularly hard, but it was distracting to instantly think of the small mostly blind mammal that burrows in the ground ever time the teacher mentioned the world 'mole'.

After enduring a chemistry class full of puns that only got worse as the hour went on I buzzed through biology. This class was more interesting than any of those I had had throughout the day. We were in the lab which made the class fly by. I wasn't necessarily excited to see the end of the day, but I must admit that I was ready to go home.

I trudged up to my room on the second story of the quaint house my mother and I shared; my father having died in a car accident when I was very little and I hardly knew the man. I slung my backpack down on my desk and pulled out the annoyingly thick packet of green paper that was the guidelines for our senior biology project. We were supposed to research a species and compare chromosomal counts on the members of a specific genus and then describe how the different species in the genus are related to each other. I cited a combination of my good grades, a feigned an interest in the local flora, and the option of "and other possibilities" in my persuasion to have the teacher allow me to instead write a rather lengthy paper about the types of trees found in forks and biological reasons why the are found here. It was an easy enough task, all I had to do was spend a little bit of time online and then actually get down to writing.

With this excuse in mind I emptied out my backpack of the textbooks I never read and other various folders and notebooks that instead of being filled with lecture notes were instead a categorical account of my writings by genre and repacked it with the little bit of relevant biology handouts I had, a digital camera, sketchbook and pencils, and then after a brief trip to the kitchen added a few snacks and a water bottle.

In constant Forks fashion, a thick cover of clouds blotched out any hopes of sun. I knew it wasn't supposed to rain but there was always condensation of some sort in the forests around Forks and in a prudent afterthought snagged my raincoat incase something crazy happened.

I made my way in my white Oldsmobile honorably nicknamed the 'White Weasel' out of town to some of the more pristine forests. I generally liked hiking through the woods around Forks. It was a pleasant way to spend some time, a decent workout, and very very relaxing.

The trails I chose for this hike were a set generally unused by the public. The entrance just off the side of the road was overgrown with a mixture of weeds and thorns and after gingerly snaking through the thistles that were the gates to the paradise of the imagination I was free. A sly smile crossed my face as I looked with satisfaction at my hands. I had successfully kept my face clear of the sharp spikes and made it through with only a few red beaded lines on the back of my hands, a general success.

It was late spring signaling to myself that despite it being already four o'clock I still had a good three hours of daylight before the sun started setting and at the very least I had another hour after that before I officially had to turn back or fear being lost in the woods overnight. It was not something I generally feared; I could take care of myself with little difficulty but since it was a Wednesday and I had school the next day as well as a parent who would start to worry if I was not back by dark I would have to save the survival escapades for another time.

I hiked for an hour into the depths of the woods. Once I broke through the barrier of weeds on the side of the road and was able to see the moss covered trunks of trees I was no longer able to see the sky. Dark green canopies of beech and maple with the occasional birch scattered in the fray darkened the sky making the atmosphere around me into a perpetual twilight consistently on the verge of dusk no matter what time the clock displayed.

Once I felt I was deep enough into the old growth I set up camp. Because of the bit of research I did before trying to persuade the teacher as to my version of the assignment I knew a bit of what to look for right off the bat. I made detailed notes as to the moisture content, the color, and other factors regarding the soil making sure to take many pictures. Once I finished analyzing the soil I turned my attention to the types of trees. I could easily pinpoint a maple tree, mostly because I knew what the Canadian flag looked like, and generally left these alone. It was the presumably beech trees that I was interest in. I assumed they were beech after stumbling on the term "beech-maple forests" in my research. So I took many pictures of the trees from all different angles, collected samples from the lowest level of the trees I could reach before climbing up as far as I could to pluck a few leaves from upper layer of the trees.

It was collecting leaves from the upper layer of a particularly wet and slippery tree that I finally realized that I was particularly high in the air. After collecting my bounty I slowly and carefully made my way down from upper limbs. As I neared the bottom of the tree I started to get careless, slipping a little bit on the thick wet branches. When I was only a mere ten feet from the ground I became just plain stupid, allowing my wannabe acrobatic self show off. I slid from one branch and reached out to grab another before landing gracefully on me feet. Unfortunately I didn't get that far. The branch I tried to grab on to was thicker than I expected and my hands did not fully encompass the limb. I tried to compensate by flailing my body to slow myself down but that turned out to be another mistake. Instead of slowing myself down my momentum shifted to my feet and I swung faster and out of control.

I was parallel with the ground ten feet below me when I felt my hands slip off the wet beech branch. I freefell all the way to the ground and landed with a dull thud on the moist earth below me. I hardly felt the throbbing pain that radiated from the back to the front of my body, instead trying to still the canopy that was spinning around me. I could feel my eyelids start to slide down my eyes as everything overcame my senses and I fell unconscious.

The sky was pitch black when I woke up. I checked my cell phone to see what time it was before I even got up. My mom had called me at the 9:30 mark and I knew she would call again before 10 rolled around. Without even getting up I gave my mom a quick call and told her that I had fallen asleep in the woods and just woke up; technically I wasn't lying and it was something that would not necessarily be foreign to me. My mom was worried but I told her that I was fine and on my way back.

I hung up the phone and sat up, instantly regretting my snap decision. The world began to spin and swirl before me. After waiting for the world to hold still I was able to rise to my feet. There was just enough light in the woods to allow me to navigate between the trees. I had a general feeling as to which direction I needed to head, knowing that if I was wrong I would run into the Snikkasee River if I walked too far to the north or east and highway 110 if I went too far south. So instead I went east.

An hour slipped by before I realized that I went in the wrong direction. The Snikkasee River was illuminated by silver moonlight shining through a gap in the clouds. The scene was beautiful. Ghastly white rays shimmered off of the gentle waves. The sight was really special, both because the clouds hardly ever let up over the Olympic peninsula and also because I was never out when it was this dark, especially while standing on the banks of a river surrounded by nothing but wilderness for miles.

But as beautiful as things were I had to get back to civilization. I took a quick peek at the position of the moon and related it to the river. I _had_ walked east and now had to slog two hours in the opposite direction all while entertaining a fairly massive headache. My mom was going to be pissed at me but it would blow over. She was never really one to hold a firm stance; she was too caring and loving for any sort of sustained hostilities. I was more upset that my absence was worrying her when I was perfectly fine.

Or so I thought.

I had successfully completed a mere quarter of the doubled distance I had to trek. My knees and ankles had joined my head in a protest for an immediate halt in all conscious activities making me view the hour and a half I still had left to walk in the near total darkness an undesirable necessity. But how else was I supposed to get back?

I was debating which mythical means of transportation I would most want at the moment to get me home safely and opted to bypass the obvious choice of teleportation for Jean Gray's mutant power of telepathy; that way I could not only levitate myself home but I could also finally make the clock move just a little bit faster. I was so engrossed with these thoughts that I didn't hear curiously quickly approaching disaster.

It wasn't until it was practically next to me that I finally understood what the growling really was real and not a figment of my imagination. Some unknown mass collided with me sending me soaring into the massive trunk of a majestically large red maple tree. I don't mean soaring as in just skidding a few short feet into the tree, I mean I was knocked into the air high enough for me to clear the dead log that was to my right and into a tree some fifteen feet away.

I was instantly aware of a trio of rasping growls resonating from three different sources; one quickly moving from way off in the distance, a wolf-like half growl half howl from further back in the woods near the river, and finally the one that was most threatening. Pinning me to the trunk of a tree was a man whose features I could hardly distinguish in the darkness. I could make out two things from this man. The first was that he was beautiful and the second was that his face was mere inches away form mine, snarling and growling and frankly poised and ready to kill.

I had just enough time to register the fact that he was for all intents and purposes ready to tear me to shreds when a blur followed by a stream of growls came in and collided with the form pinning me to the tree, taking out a few young trees several feet away from me; disappearing from sight but keeping up a constant shouting match done completely in growls and snarls.

I took in all of the events with relative ease. I knew this was real because I could feel the intense pain of large cut on the back of my head that allowed a small trickle of blood to drip down my neck and back. This sticky viscous liquid was a reminder to me that no, everything I was seeing was real and that I had just stumbled upon something pretty spectacular.

This last resounding thought was highlighted to the extreme by the appearance of a massive form with shaggy fur. If my judgment was even in the right cardinal direction then this form resembled that of a wolf, albeit what had to be the size of the common horse.

"Seth! Go human and get her out of here. Jasper can't hold back!"

To me this seemed like a very foreign thing. I continued my policy of intake-first-think-later and watched as the massive wolf started to shake violently before transforming into the shape of a man. He gingerly picked me up in his arms making sure to be extra careful, or so it thought. I felt two things as this man scooped me up into his arms: he was very strong and very hot. I could not tell if the latter was a physical attraction but his skin felt like he was having a fever.

Then I felt the wind on my face. We were moving faster than I had before this very strange night ever imagined possible. He had me clutched close to his bare chest bridal style, backpack and all, and quickly darting between the trees. The massive form continued running without making a sound. Since my eyes saw nothing but black and gray due to the landscape around me being draped in night I decided to close them, feeling relieved when the pain in my head ebbed considerably. My ears were soon filled with complete silence broken only by my ragged breathing and my ride's steady almost relaxed breaths. I tried to match the pace of my lungs to his but soon found myself slipping onto the realm of dreams.

a/n: West Michigan isn't all like that; it's really a good place to live. I just wanted to throw that in because there are a few people like that. And yes, I do live in West Michigan.


	2. Chapter 2 Bedazzled

**Chapter 2: Bedazzled **

"Britney! Oh my goodness Britney are you alright?!" The desperation in my mother's voice woke me as thoroughly as if a cannon had gone off beside me.

I was only slightly aware of the form kneeling next to me. Instead I was to consumed with gawking at the figure at the foot of the bed I was laying in. I got lost in his boyish face without really realizing what I was doing. "Hi," I greeted the unknown teen with a lopsided smile. In the light he looked physically like he was a 25 year old native American model except for his cute boyish face which gave him the appearance of a 16 year old kid.

Before the unknown teen could reply my mom was crouched right beside me. Where she got the speed to move as fast as she did at her age escaped me but there she was, next to me.

I tried to sit up further from the incline of the bed. The moment I tried to exert any force to the contrary of my resting position my body laughed at my feeble attempt and sent me crashing back down to the cushy mattress.

My mom gasped in shock at my attempt and I tried to greet her horror with a reassuring smile that, to my dismay, made the expression on her face worse.

The so far nameless teen watched me carefully as he stood at the end of my bed.

"Thanks," I said.

The teen's face was lined in worry but he quickly lit up the entire room by flashing me the most beautiful and perfect smile I could even think of. I took in the full blast of his overall affect and started to feel my self becoming light headed. I had to mentally tell myself to breath in fear that I just might pass out again and wake up on the forest floor under the tree I fell from. "No problem," he replied.

"Um, thank you so much for bringing my little girl home." Embarrassment from my mom's words persuaded my face into doing an impression of a strawberry.

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad that she's all right." The concern apparent in his voice made my red face turn maroon as my level of embarrassment upped tenfold.

I locked my eyes with this gorgeous man's black eyes and smiled. "You saved me," I said, slightly unsure of how to finish without sounding corny, cheesy, or any other '-y's' I could think of. In my usual fashion I was devoid of anything witty or charming so I went with painfully embarrassing. "You saved me," I repeated, "but I don't even know your name."

"My name's Seth Clearwater," his bass voice rang out sternly yet smoothly; overflowing with confidence.

"I was lucky you were in the woods," I said, hoping to continue the conversation just to hear his voice. The second I looked into the reasoning behind my words I internally laughed at myself. I was already smitten in love by this savior.

My mom's eyes rocked me from my thoughts. I read the expression on her face before she said it, giving me some time to make a few decisions and get my story straight. She didn't exactly need to know everything that had happened; only some of the details. "So Britney, what happened to you? I tried calling you but you never picked up."

This one I would be easy, I was ready for it. "I was doing some research for my biology project. I had to take some pictures and gather some samples for a paper I have to write about why Forks has the kind of forests it does. I was climbing a tree to get some leaves from the top branches to look at when I slipped and fell out. Luckily I was only a few feet up and the ground was soft."

I was not necessarily a proficient liar but I could act well enough for her to buy the story; but she needed a little more convincing. When she looked away for a second I flickered my eyes over to Seth who curled his lips in to a crooked smile. We had an understanding, at least a partial one.

"I found her lying on the ground under a tree. It looked like she had hit her head pretty hard and there was some blood in her hair so I carried her to the only car at the head of the trail and took her here. That's when I called you."

As an afterthought he added "I did have to dig through her backpack to find her keys and her ID and stuff; I hope you don't mind."

Seth was good.

"No, I don't mind at all. Thank you so much Seth."

Seth gave my mother a very polite and what I thought a very cute smile.

"Ah, Seth the hero. How are you my friend?" A voice like silk resonated from the room's door. Standing in the doorway in a white doctor's coat was a man too beautiful to practice medicine. His gold hair and soft gold eyes instantly calmed the air into a tranquil bath of peace. However, I was surprised to see how pail he looked.

"I'm good Doc, how 'bout you?" Seth asked. Apparently he and the doctor were good friends. Maybe everyone from their crowd were secretly models posing in everyday situations as some sort of character thing; or maybe I was going crazy. $5 on the latter hypothesis.

The dashing and rather young looking doctor leisurely strode into the room and snagged the clipboard on the end of my bed. He glanced at it for a second and before charming my mom and I with his smile. "Mrs. Daniels, Britney," he greeted us. "My name's Dr. Carlisle Cullen and…" he trailed off while he looked over my chart. "It looks like there's good news."

I looked at my mom with hope spewing from my eyes. I was a relatively tough and tomboyish girl, having had my share of accidents and injuries, and my mom knew it yet always worried about me. As much as I wanted to tell her off in some way for being so cautious of me I couldn't help but empathize with where she was coming from; having lost her husband (my father) in an accident and only having myself left to call family.

As I gave my mom a look specifically designed to show my durability the doc hung a few x-ray pictures on the lightboard. "Well, you definitely suffered a concussion; this discolored area here on the back of your brain is the bruising."

My mom's eyes widened in concern as I sighed inwardly.

"However," he continued. For a moment I thought I saw a smile flicker across his face, like he noticed my internal frustration. "Despite being knocked unconscious it looks like your body took it well. I'm going to suggest that you stay here over night just in case. You _were_ knocked out and while you do have a choice I would recommend you stay."

I took the news in stride and weighed my options. Staying over night in the hospital meant I would have stories, and I would be able to miss some or all of school; the downside being that I would be under the supervision of the nursing staff although I would hopefully be here with the hot doc. Yet if I went home I the school issue would still be give or take but I would have to put up with an overprotective mom. All things considered the hospital would be for the average teenage high school girl the better choice.

"Yeah, I agree," I told the hot doctor. I thought my mom would in some way protest but she stayed quiet.

"Mrs. Daniels?" Dr. Cullen asked. "We need to take some time and fill out a little bit of paperwork. Could you please come with me?"

I gave my mom a large smirk. I was only in the doctor's peripheral but the dose of magic coming from his eyes had my legs feeling like jelly. I could only imagine what my mom was feeling. My smirk broadened into a full fledged smile as I saw her eyes shift from his face to his left hand and, seeing the wedding ring, she ever so slightly slumped forward in a show of defeat.

Once the parental supervision left the room, I made my move. I clearly remembered everything that had happened despite the concussion and frankly I was mystified. I eyed the tall teen with a mixture of contemplation and curiosity as I debated where to begin. After a second he met my gaze with a broad smile. I couldn't help but return the infectious gesture.

'Screw it; might as well start off swinging,' I thought. "So Seth," I started. "What exactly happened? I remember being attacked, by a guy out of nowhere; I think his name was Casper or Jasper or something like that. Then another guy knocked him off me and then a big wolf appeared."

A fleeting look of surprise was followed by the briefest flash of concern appeared on his boyish face. He quickly wipe them away but the damage was done; I had seen them. "That's some wild dream you had Britney," he said trying to force amusement into his voice while epically failing.

I glared at him. "It was no dream."

"And how can you say that?" He asked.

"Because that wolf transformed into you..." I trailed off. My cheeks erupted into a blush that skipped the color red turning my face from normal tanned to a deep purple.

"What? Wow, that's some imagination you have there." His words were obviously meant to both dissuade my argument as well as comfort me; both of which weren't happening.

He seemed to finally notice my apparent uneasiness because he tried to soothe me again. "Hey now, there's not need to be bashful; some people are just really creative."

"I'm not blushing because I think that you think I'm weird or something," I shot back.

Seth's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "They why?" He asked.

I let out a sigh. If I wanted any answers then I would have to have to give a few my self. "Because I…" I trailed off again. I tried to calm my racing heart with a deep breath. "Well, I, when you," I swallowed. My body just didn't want to say it but I knew I had to. Time to man up. "When you changed I saw you."

Seth was still confused.

So I elaborated. "_All_ of you. You were completely naked."

I watched as recognition rang through his mind. I took some enjoyment watching his face go from a cute boyish one filled with confidence to that of a deep scarlet rivaling that of the delicious apples Washington is so famously known for.

He was speechless for a few seconds but he soon caught back up with the charade. "I don't know what you are talking about. Maybe that overactive imagination is a trying to tell you something."

"Oh I know what it's trying to tell me," I thought back for a second to that glorious moment when a massive and shaggy wolf transformed into a gloriously attractive and what appeared to be naked man standing before me. I half wished that there was just a little more light so that I could actually see his body instead of a dimly lit face and torso with a silhouetted lower half.

It took me a moment to realize that I had cut myself off with my fantasy. "Anyway," I continued on the war path, "how else would I know that you have big scar over your right nipple?" Take that.

Seth was quiet for a while, his hand absentmindedly massaging the place over his deliciously tight fitting green t-shirt where I had seen the scar only hours before. I took Seth's ensuing silence as confirmation to my suspitions. However, I already knew what I saw. Now I wanted to know what was going on. Every question I had from there on out was met with nothing but silence from this bedazzling boy.

He wouldn't answer any questions about the extraordinary or supernatural so instead I went with the ordinary and natural. "So how come I've never seen you in school?" I asked.

At this prompt he picked up the conversation like we'd been chatting the whole time. "You go to Forks high right? I live on the Quileute reservation and go to school there."

"Sounds like fun," I said in a dampered voice, not knowing where else to go with the conversation. So I went with the pleasantries; at the very least it would keep him talking. "What grade are you in?"

"Junior. Yourself?"

"Ditto," I replied. "But you don't look like a junior. When I first saw you I thought you were like 25, except for your face. Your face gives you away."

"Is it really that bad?"

"No," I tried to consol him, "there's nothing wrong with having a bit of a baby face. Lots of girls think it's cute."

"Do you?" He asked.

The straightforwardness of the question was acutely accented when he cocked his lips into a stunning half smile and leaned closer in. "Um…yeah." His deep voice left my body tingling as it quaked through me. I could feel my pulse take off as my heart rate clamored out of control. "Is that a bad thing?"

Seth let out a deep hardy laugh. "No, I'm glad," he reassured me.

"Sure, sure, no need to be polite." I dismissed the conversation with my voice and tried to do the same with a sarcastic twitch of my hand as if to bat away the conversation in hopes for something new to take its place. I had the feeling that if we continued talking about our feelings, likes and dislikes then I would not end up too happy. I had nothing to back it up, only a woman's intuition.

Thankfully the good doctor chose this time to return. I hadn't noticed how long Seth Clearwater and I had been engrossed in conversation and was surprised to see that we had spent the last twenty minutes talking.

"Alright Brittney, we have everything all taken care of. I'll be here throughout the night if you need anything."

His silken voice soothed me. I was sure to have a good night's sleep; that is if I could keep the good doctor out of my dreams. I knew that trying to keep my mind off Seth would be a lost cause. "Thank you Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle," he corrected me.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I repeated with the correction.

"Thank you, Carlisle," my mother echoed my sentiments.

I was surprised when she turned to Seth next. "Seth…" Tears started to form at her eyes. "Seth, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much what you did means to me. Thank you," my mom let out a sniff. I was so embarrassed. I contemplated my prospects of disappearing in some way; anything to avoid being where I was right now. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

There was no way I could ever get redder. Really I couldn't even comprehend being more embarrassed. I can't believe my mom actually said that. I take that back; I could believe it but I really didn't want to.

Seth stared deep into my mom's eyes. His smile quite literally lit up the room; I could see the light, or maybe it was just plain brilliance, shining from his face. "Please, don't mention it. I'm glad I could help."

I managed to pick up the subtle change in my mom's mood. The gratitude and the love were still there; but now she was swooning a little. I debated whether or not I should remind her Seth was more than half her age but decided against it.

After her rather embarrassing act, to me at least, she said a final round of 'thank you' and 'good bye' to the crowd before departing. As she walked out the door she turned to give me one last look of worry and relief before turning and disappearing down the hall.

"Seth, you mother must be worried about you; you should be getting home. It's late and you _do_ have school tomorrow."

Seth nodded in agreement at Carlisle's words. "You're right Carlisle. I'll call my mom to come pick me up."

I watched the two change words. I felt it funny that after this harmful little conversation the two started sharing shifty-eyed glances in my direction; like they were talking to each other without speaking. I let my annoyance go; there was no need for me to pry into what they were doing. After all I hardly knew any of them, so who was I to demand an explanation for what could be a completely harmless moment.

My thoughts had consumed my conscious being. I was completely unaware of Seth crouching down at the side of my bed until he gently set his hand on my shoulder. "Huh? Oh, um, sorry," I spluttered.

"It's alright," he murmured. I started to swoon myself; but at least he was my age. "I just wanted to say that I'm leaving. I hope you feel better Britney."

My breathing started coming in shallow rasps. "Th…thanks Seth," I managed. Knowing that my voice was pretty much all but useless I decided to go a different rout. I wrapped my had on top of his and started gently rubbing it. I had to hide the shock on my face. He was hot; like burning up hot. Well he was smoking hot too but it felt like he had quite a fever. Maybe he was embarrassed as well? He could think of this how he wanted; but if his mind leapt to conclusions then he would be on the right track.

He as well sent me a fleeting look as he walked out the door but instead of it being one of worry and relief Seth added what looked like admiration and embarrassment to the mix. I was a bit confused by this but decided to let it go; I was probably way off and only imagining things because of the concussion.

The good doctor bid me farewell and silently glided out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3 Sleep

**Chapter 3: Sleep**

It occurred to me when everyone left that my chances of seeing Seth again were pretty much nil. I didn't know how often he strayed into Forks but I knew the frequency in which I went to La Push and was disappointed with myself. Granted I could never find a reason to go to the reservation; I didn't know anyone there and I hardly ever went on social outings to the beach and stuff so I was kinda S.O.L. on the whole 'ever seeing Seth again' thing.

I didn't even ask him for a phone number. But then again how could I without sounding like some sort of flaunting fangirl? Maybe it would just be better this way. I would soon forget about Seth and in time move on.

Or most likely not. All I had to do was think of a few reasons to go down to La Push and eventually we would come across one another sooner or later. The reservation wasn't that big while compared to most other people he was.

Lying over on the floor near the door was my backpack which undoubtedly still had all of my homework and utensils from my excursion. Which gave me a bit of an idea. Biology was not my favorite subject but it fell within my favorite discipline; I tended to be more of a chemistry fan but I wasn't picky. Whether or not I actually changed my paper at all was irrelevant. I could how ever use my paper as an excuse to do some research around La Push; just to make sure that the majority of the old growth forests were similar in consistency.

And if I ran into Seth then so be it.

Now however it was time for me to sleep. I didn't realize how tired I was until everyone left but in the few short minutes since everyone left I must have yawned five or six times. I was still in my clothes, a fact that bothered me a little bit, but I let it slide. I didn't have anything to change into and besides; I wasn't going to school tomorrow so who cared if I wore the same thing again. I would change as soon as I got home anyway.

Despite being knocked unconscious for a few hours earlier in the day I must have set a new personal best falling asleep. If falling asleep was an Olympic sport, I would have just won the gold.

--

I curse to the deepest pits of Erebus in the realm of Hades whoever had the bright idea to wake a concussion patient at least every two hours to check on them. There was no way I could blame Dr. Cullen for having to wake me and put me through the same few tests; it had to be hospital policy. Besides, judging by the darkness of the shadows around his eyes it looked to me like he could empathize with me on my lack of sleep. He looked like a raccoon.

The vexation of being woken up every few hours must have started to show on my face. Dr. Cullen like a true gentleman apologized after every encounter. I wanted to get upset but I knew it wasn't his fault. Finally at five in the morning I told him "Dr. Cullen, er, Carlisle, please I'm fine. There's no need to keep waking me up. I beg you let me get some sleep."

My anger and annoyance resolved itself into a shield which did a commendable job in protecting me from the hot doctor's spell. He stared at me with his golden eyes; an observance that I generally found quite odd. From what I remember people had an array of eye colors such as blue, green, brown, or some mix of those. But his eyes were a dull gold which seemed very atypical. I logicked to myself that he probably had contacts in and left it at that.

"I tell you what doc," I continued, trying and epically failing to keep my voice jovial and non-threatening. My anger surprised me; I really had no reason or enforcement to back up my hostilities. I hoped he would understand. "I think that my not sleeping is actually doing more harm than whatever these tests are supposed to check for. So I personally think it would be better for you to let me sleep. Please?" It never hurts to be polite; just for good measure.

His air of superiority was well stated and most likely deserved. But it still got on my nerves. "Well Britney, these tests are designed to check for any brain damage. If we let you sleep your brain could conform to the bruising and become permanently damaged. We need to check for any latent signs."

"My brain's damaged as it is; why don't we just add some more?" I scoffed.

"But," he cut in. "I think that seeing as you have passed all of your tests with flying colors we can make a bit of an exception to normal protocol. Get some sleep and I'll tell the nurses not to bother you. Sleep in as long as you want and I wish you a speedy recovery." With that the doctor gave me a slight bow and departed the room.

Once my eyelids met it was game over. I was out and hopefully would be until either the sunlight woke me or I had to pee. I hoped for the former but expected that latter.


End file.
